Such is the nature of this new-fangled Deity, as deducible from the words of our new God-maker. But he takes his stand on the Scriptures, and maintains that Moses explicitly declares this, when he says, “God said,” adding His words, “Let there be light,” and, “Let there be a firmament,” and, “Let the waters be gathered together…and let the dry land appear,” and, “Let the earth bring forth,” and, “Let the waters bring forth,” and, whatsoever else is written in its order. Let us, then, examine the meaning of what is said. Who does not know, even if he be the merest simpleton, that there is a natural correlation between hearing and speech, and that, as it is impossible for hearing to discharge its function when no one is speaking, so speech is ineffectual unless directed to hearing? If, then, he means literally that “God said,” let him tell us also to what hearing His words were addressed. Does he mean that He said them to Himself? If so, the commands which He issues, He issues to Himself. Yet who will accept this interpretation, that God sits upon His throne prescribing what He Himself must do, and employing Himself as His minister to do His bidding? But even supposing one were to allow that it was not blasphemy to say this, who has any need of words and speech for himself, even though a man? For every one’s own mental action suffices him to produce choice and volition. But he will doubtless say that the Father held converse with the Son. But what need of vocal utterance for that? For it is a property of bodily nature to signify the thoughts of the heart by means of words, whence also written characters equivalent to speech were invented for the expression of thought. For we declare thought equally by speaking and by writing, but in the case of those who are not too far distant we reach their hearing by voice, but declare our mind to those who are at a distance by written characters; and in the case of those present with us, in proportion to their distance from us, we raise or lower the tones of our voice, and to those close by us we sometimes point out what they are to do simply by a nod; and such or such an expression of the eye is sufficient to convey our determination, or a movement of the hand is sufficient to signify our approval or disapproval of something going on. If, then, those who are encompassed by the body are able to make known the hidden working of their minds to their neighbours, even without voice, or speech, or correspondence by means of letters, and silence causes no hindrance to the despatch of business, can it be that in the case of the immaterial, and intangible, and, as Eunomius says, the Supreme and first Being, there is any need of words to indicate the thought of the Father and to make known His will to the Only-Begotten Son—words, which, as he himself says, are wont to perish as soon as they are uttered? No one, methinks, who has common sense will accept this as the truth, especially as all sound is poured forth into the air. For voice cannot be produced unless it takes consistence in air. Now, even they themselves must suppose some medium of communication between the speaker and him to whom he speaks. For if there were no such medium, how could the voice travel from the speaker to the hearer? What, then, will they say is the medium or interval by which they divide the Father from the Son? Between bodies, indeed, there is an interval of atmospheric space, differing in its nature from the nature of human bodies. But God, Who is intangible, and without form, and pure from all composition, in communicating His counsels with the Only-Begotten Son, Who is similarly, or rather in the same manner, immaterial and without body—if He made His communication by voice, what medium would He have had through which the word, transmitted as in a current, might reach the ears of the Only-Begotten? For we need hardly stop to consider that God is not separable into apprehensive faculties, as we are, whose perceptions separately apprehend their corresponding objects; e.g. sight apprehends what may be seen, hearing what may be heard, so that touch does not taste, and hearing has no perception of odours and flavours, but each confines itself to that function to which it was appointed by nature, holding itself insensible, as it were, to those with which it has no natural correspondence, and incapable of tasting the pleasure enjoyed by its neighbour sense. But with God it is otherwise. All in all, He is at once sight, and hearing, and knowledge; and there we stop, for it is not permitted us to ascribe the more animal perceptions to that refined nature. Still we take a very low view of God, and drag down the Divine to our own grovelling standard, if we suppose the Father speaking with His mouth, and the Son’s ear listening to His words. What, then, are we to suppose is the medium which conveys the Father’s voice to the hearing of the Son? It must be created or uncreate. But we may not call it created; for the Word was before the creation of the world: and beside the Divine nature there is nothing uncreate. If, therefore, there was no creation then, and the Word spoken of in the cosmogony was older than creation, will he, who maintains that speech and a voice are meant by “the Word,” suggest what medium existed between the Father and the Son, whereby those words and sounds were expressed? For if a medium exist, it must needs exist in a nature of its own, so as to differ in nature both from the Father and the Son. Being, then, something of necessity different, it divides the Father and the Son from each other, as though inserted between the two. What, then, could it be? Not created, for creation is younger than the Word. Generated we have learnt the Only-begotten (and Him alone) to be. Except the Father, none is ungenerate. Truth, therefore, obliges us to the conclusion that there is no medium between the Father and the Son. But where separation is not conceived of the closest connection is naturally implied. And what is so connected needs no medium for voice or speech. Now, by “connected,” I mean here what is in all respects inseparable. For in the case of a spiritual nature the term connection does not mean corporeal connection, but the union and blending of spiritual with spiritual through identity of will. Accordingly, there is no divergence of will between the Father and the Son, but the image of goodness is after the Archetype of all goodness and beauty, and as, if a man should look at himself in a glass (for it is perfectly allowable to explain the idea by corporeal illustrations), the copy will in all respects be conformed to the original, the shape of the man who is reflected being the cause of the shape on the glass, and the reflection making no spontaneous movement or inclination unless commenced by the original, but, if it move, moving along with it,—in like manner we maintain that our Lord, the Image of the invisible God, is immediately and inseparably one with the Father in every movement of His Will. If the Father will anything, the Son Who is in the Father knows the Father’s will, or rather He is Himself the Father’s will. For, if He has in Himself all that is the Father’s, there is nothing of the Father’s that He cannot have. If, then, He has all things that are the Father’s in Himself, or, say we rather, if He has the Father Himself, then, along with the Father and the things that are the Father’s, He must needs have in Himself the whole of the Father’s will. He needs not, therefore, to know the Father’s will by word, being Himself the Word of the Father, in the highest acceptation of the term. What, then, is the word that can be addressed to Him who is the Word indeed? And how can He Who is the Word indeed require a second word for instruction?

Τοιαύτη τοῦ προσφάτου θεοῦ ἡ φύσις διὰ τῆς ἀκολουθίας τῶν εἰρημένων ὑπὸ τοῦ νέου θεοποιοῦ ἀναπέφηνεν. ἀλλὰ ἀντιλαμβάνεται τῶν γεγραμμένων καί φησι « ταῦτα τὸν Μωϋσέα διαρρήδην βοᾶν ὅτι εἶπεν ὁ θεός, καὶ προστίθησι τὰ ῥήματα, τὸ Γενηθήτω φῶς καὶ Γενηθήτω στερέωμα καὶ Συναχθήτω τὰ ὕδατα καὶ Ὀφθήτω ἡ ξηρὰ καὶ Βλαστησάτω ἡ γῆ καὶ Ἐξαγαγέτω τὰ ὕδατα καὶ πάντα ὅσα καθεξῆς ἀναγέγραπται ». οὐκοῦν ἐξετάσωμεν τὴν τῶν εἰρημένων διάνοιαν. τίς οὐκ οἶδε καὶ τῶν κομιδῇ νηπίων ὅτι φυσικὴν ἔχει πρὸς ἄλληλα σχέσιν ἀκοή τε καὶ λόγος, καὶ ὡς οὐκ ἔστιν ἀκοὴν ἐνεργῆσαι μηδενὸς φθεγγομένου, οὕτως οὐδὲ λόγον ἐνεργὸν εἶναι μὴ πρὸς ἀκοὴν εὐθυνόμενον. εἰ οὖν λέγει τὸ εἰρηκέναι τὸν θεόν, ὑποδειξάτω ἡμῖν καὶ τὴν ἀκοὴν πρὸς ἣν εἴρηκεν. ἢ πρὸς ἑαυτὸν ταῦτα λέγειν φήσει; οὐκοῦν ἑαυτῷ προστάσσει ταῦτα ἐγκελευόμενος. καὶ τίς τοῦτο δέξεται, καθῆσθαι τὸν θεὸν τὸ πρακτέον ἑαυτῷ διατάττοντα καὶ ἑαυτῷ διακόνῳ τῶν προσταγμάτων καὶ ὑπηρέτῃ χρώμενον; εἰ δὲ καὶ τοῦτο δοίη τις εὐαγὲς εἶναι λέγειν, τίς ἐφ' ἑαυτοῦ ῥημάτων ἐδεήθη καὶ λόγων, κἂν ἄνθρωπος ᾖ; ἀρκεῖ γὰρ ἑκάστῳ τῆς διανοίας ἡ κίνησις τὴν τῆς προαιρέσεως ὁρμὴν ἐμποιῆσαι. ἀλλὰ τῷ υἱῷ διαλέγεσθαι πάντως ἐρεῖ. καὶ τίς ἦν χρεία πρὸς τοῦτο φωνῆς; ἴδιον γὰρ τῆς ἐνσωμάτου φύσεως τὸ διὰ ῥημάτων ἐξαγγέλλειν τὰ τῆς καρδίας νοήματα: ὅθεν καὶ ἰσοδυναμοῦσα τῇ χρήσει τῆς φωνῆς ἡ δι' ἐπινοίας τῶν γραμμάτων ἐξεύρηται δήλωσις: ἐπίσης γὰρ φθεγγόμενοί τε καὶ γράφοντες τὸ νοηθὲν ἐξαγγέλλομεν, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ μὲν τῶν μὴ λίαν ἀφεστηκότων φωνῇ τῆς ἀκοῆς καθικνούμεθα, πρὸς δὲ τοὺς πόρρωθεν γράμμασι δηλοῦμεν τὴν γνώμην, καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν παρόντων πρὸς λόγον τῆς ἀποστάσεως ἢ ἐπιτείνομεν τὸν τόνον τῆς φωνῆς ἢ ὑφίεμεν, ἔστιν δὲ ὅτε καὶ διανεύοντες μόνον τὸ πρακτέον τοῖς πέλας διεσαφήσαμεν καὶ τὴν ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ προαίρεσιν καὶ ὀφθαλμὸς τοιῶσδε διατεθεὶς ἐνεδείξατο καὶ χειρὸς ποιὰ κίνησις ἢ ἀπεῖπέ τι τῶν γινομένων ἢ κατεδέξατο. εἰ τοίνυν οἱ σώματι περιειλημμένοι τὰ κρυπτὰ τῆς διανοίας κινήματα καὶ δίχα φωνῆς ἢ ῥήματος ἢ τῆς ἐν γράμμασιν ὁμιλίας πολλάκις τοῖς πέλας γνωρίζουσι καὶ οὐδεμίαν ἤνεγκε τῷ σπουδαζομένῳ πράγματι ζημίαν ἡ σιωπή, ἆρ' ἐπὶ τῆς ἀΰλου καὶ ἀναφοῦς καί, ὥς φησιν ὁ Εὐνόμιος, « ἀνωτάτω καὶ πρώτης οὐσίας » ῥημάτων χρεία τῶν καὶ τοῦ πατρὸς διασαφούντων τὸ νόημα καὶ τῷ μονογενεῖ γνωριζόντων τὸ βούλημα; ῥημάτων τῶν, καθὼς αὐτός φησι, « τῇ φωνῇ πεφυκότων συνδιαλύεσθαι »;
Οὐκ οἶδα εἴ τις τῶν νοῦν ἐχόντων ταῦτα ὡς ἀληθῆ παραδέξεται, ἄλλως τε παντὸς φθόγγου πάντως εἰς ἀέρα προχεομένου (οὐδὲ γὰρ δυνατὸν γενέσθαι φωνὴν μὴ ἐν ἀέρι συνισταμένην) ἀνάγκη πᾶσα μέσον τι τοῦ φθεγγομένου καὶ τοῦ πρὸς ὃν ὁ λόγος γίνεται καὶ αὐτοὺς ὑποθέσθαι. μὴ γὰρ ὄντος τοῦ μεσιτεύοντος, πῶς ἐκ τοῦ λαλοῦντος ἡ φωνὴ διοδεύσει πρὸς τὸν ἀκούοντα; τί οὖν ἐροῦσι τὸ μέσον ᾧ τὸν υἱὸν [ἐκ] τοῦ πατρὸς διορίζουσι; τῶν μὲν γὰρ σωμάτων ὁ κατὰ τὸν ἀέρα τόπος γίνεται μέσος, ἄλλο τι ὢν κατὰ τὴν ἰδίαν φύσιν παρὰ τὴν τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων σωμάτων οὐσίαν. ὁ δὲ ἀναφὴς καὶ ἀνείδεος καὶ πάσης συνθέσεως καθαρεύων θεός, τῷ μονογενεῖ θεῷ παραπλησίως, μᾶλλον δὲ ὡσαύτως ἀΰλως τε καὶ ἀσωμάτως τῶν ἰδίων κοινωνῶν βουλευμάτων, εἴπερ διὰ φωνῆς ἐποιεῖτο τὴν κοινωνίαν, τί τὸ μεσιτεῦον εἶχε, δι' οὗ ῥέων ὁ λόγος καὶ μεθιστάμενος ταῖς ἀκοαῖς τοῦ μονογενοῦς εἰσῳκίζετο; εἴγε χρὴ καὶ τοῦτο παραδραμεῖν ἀθεώρητον, τὸ μὴ μεμερίσθαι τὸ θεῖον ταῖς ἀντιληπτικαῖς ἐνεργείαις, ὡς παρ' ἡμῖν διῃρημένως ἕκαστον τῶν αἰσθητηρίων τοῦ συγγενοῦς ἐπιδράσσεται, τοῦ ὁρατοῦ μὲν ἡ ὅρασις τοῦ ἀκουστοῦ δὲ ἡ κατὰ τὴν ἀκοὴν αἴσθησις, καὶ οὔτε γεύεται ἡ ἁφὴ οὔτε ἡ ἀκοὴ τὴν τῶν ἀτμῶν ἢ τῶν χυμῶν ἀντίληψιν ἔχει, ἀλλὰ παραμένει ἕκαστον τῇ μιᾷ ἐνεργείᾳ εἰς ἣν ἐτάχθη παρὰ τῆς φύσεως, ἀναίσθητον τρόπον τινὰ πρὸς ὃ μὴ πέφυκε διαμένον καὶ ἄγευστον τῆς ἀπολαύσεως ἧς καρποῦται ἡ γείτων αἴσθησις. ἐκεῖ δὲ οὐχ οὕτως, ἀλλ' ὅλον δι' ὅλου τὸ θεῖον ὅρασίς ἐστι καὶ ἀκοὴ καὶ γνῶσις. οὐ γὰρ δὴ θέμις καὶ τὰς ζῳωδεστέρας τῶν αἰσθήσεων ἐφαρμόζειν τῇ ἀκηράτῳ φύσει. πλὴν εἰ χρή τι καὶ ταπεινὸν ὑποθέσθαι καὶ καταγαγεῖν εἰς χαμαιζήλους ὑπολήψεις τὸ θεῖον, ὥστε λαλεῖν μὲν οἴεσθαι ῥήματα διὰ στόματος τὸν πατέρα, ἐνεργεῖν δὲ τὴν ἀκοὴν τοῦ υἱοῦ, τί τὸ μέσον ὑποτιθέμεθα τὸ διάγον τὴν πατρικὴν φωνὴν εἰς τὴν τοῦ υἱοῦ ἀκοήν; κτιστὸν εἶναι χρὴ τοῦτο ἢ ἄκτιστον; ἀλλὰ κτιστὸν μὲν οὐκ ἔστιν εἰπεῖν: πρὸ γὰρ τοῦ συστῆναι τὴν κτίσιν ὁ λόγος ἐγένετο: ἄκτιστον δὲ πλὴν τῆς θείας φύσεώς ἐστιν οὐδέν. εἰ οὖν κτίσις οὐκ ἦν, ὁ δὲ μνημονευθεὶς ἐν τῇ κοσμογενείᾳ λόγος τῆς κτίσεως πρεσβύτερος ἦν, ἄρα ὁ λέγων ῥήματα καὶ φωνῆς ἦχον διὰ τοῦ λόγου σημαίνεσθαι τί τὸ μεταξὺ τοῦ υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ πατρὸς ὑποθήσεται, ᾧ διετυποῦτο ἡ φωνὴ τὰ ῥήματα; εἰ γὰρ ἔστι μέσον, ἐν ἰδιαζούσῃ φύσει πάντως ἐστίν, ὡς μήτε τῷ πατρὶ ταὐτὸν εἶναι μήτε τῷ υἱῷ κατὰ τὴν φύσιν συμβαίνειν, ἀλλ' ἕτερόν τι πάντως ὂν διΐστησιν ἀπ' ἀλλήλων τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὸν υἱὸν μεταξὺ τῶν δύο παρενειρόμενον. τί οὖν τοῦτο; κτιστὸν οὐκ ἔστι: νεωτέρα γὰρ ἡ κτίσις τοῦ λόγου. γεννητὸν τὸν μονογενῆ ἐδιδάχθημεν, ἀγέννητον πλὴν τοῦ πατρός ἐστιν οὐδέν. οὐκοῦν ἐξ ἀνάγκης τὸ μηδὲν εἶναι μέσον τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ νοεῖν ὁ τῆς ἀληθείας λόγος συναναγκάζει. ὅπου δὲ διάστασις οὐκ ἐπινοεῖται, τὸ συνημμένον πάντως ὁμολογεῖται, τὸ δὲ διὰ πάντων συνημμένον φωνῇ καὶ λόγῳ οὐ μεσιτεύεται. συνημμένον δὲ λέγω τὸ ἐν πᾶσιν ἀχώριστον. οὐ γὰρ σωματικήν τινα συμφυΐαν ἐπὶ τῆς νοερᾶς φύσεως τὸ ὄνομα τῆς συναφείας ἐνδείκνυται, ἀλλὰ τὴν τοῦ νοητοῦ πρὸς τὸ νοητὸν διὰ τῆς ταὐτότητος τῶν θελημάτων ἕνωσίν τε καὶ ἀνάκρασιν.
Διότι οὐδὲ ἔστι διαφορὰ μεταξὺ τοῦ υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐν θελήματι, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὸ ἀρχέτυπον τῆς ἀγαθότητος κάλλος καὶ ἡ εἰκών ἐστι τῆς ἀγαθότητος. καὶ ὥσπερ εἴ τις ἑαυτὸν ἐν κατόπτρῳ βλέποι (κωλύει γὰρ οὐδὲν σωματικοῖς ὑποδείγμασι παραστῆσαι τὸ νόημα), κατὰ πάντα πρὸς τὸ πρωτότυπον καὶ ἡ εἰκὼν μορφωθήσεται, ὡς αἰτίαν τῆς ἐν τῷ κατόπτρῳ μορφῆς εἶναι τὴν ἐνορῶσαν μορφὴν καὶ μήτε κινεῖσθαι μήτε ἐπικλίνεσθαι καθ' ἑαυτὴν τὴν εἰκόνα, μὴ τοῦ πρωτοτύπου τῆς ἐπικλίσεως ἢ τῆς κινήσεως ἄρξαντος, εἰ δὲ κινηθείη τὸ προηγούμενον, συγκινεῖσθαι πάντως καὶ τὸ ἐν τῷ κατόπτρῳ δεικνύμενον, οὕτω φαμὲν καὶ τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ἀοράτου τὸν κύριον πρὸς πᾶσαν θελήματος κίνησιν ἀμέσως τε καὶ ἀδιαστάτως συνδιατίθεσθαι τῷ πατρί. ἠθέλησέ τι ὁ πατὴρ καὶ ὁ ἐν τῷ πατρὶ ὢν υἱὸς εἶχε τὸ θέλημα τοῦ πατρός, μᾶλλον δὲ αὐτὸς τοῦ πατρὸς ἐγένετο θέλημα. ὁ γὰρ πάντα τὰ τοῦ πατρὸς ἔχων ἐν ἑαυτῷ οὐκ ἔστιν ὅ τι τῶν τοῦ πατρὸς οὐκ ἔχει. εἰ δὴ πάντα ἔχει ἐν ἑαυτῷ τὰ πατρῷα, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν πατέρα, πάντως μετὰ τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ τῶν τοῦ πατρὸς ὅλον τὸ θέλημα ἐν ἑαυτῷ ἔχει τὸ πατρῷον. οὐ χρῄζει τοίνυν λόγῳ μαθεῖν τοῦ πατρὸς τὸ θέλημα, αὐτὸς ὢν τοῦ πατρὸς ὁ λόγος κατὰ τὴν ὑψηλοτέραν σημασίαν τοῦ λόγου. τίς οὖν ἐκεῖνος ὁ λόγος ὁ πρὸς τὸν ὄντως λόγον γινόμενος; καὶ πῶς ὁ ὄντως λόγος λόγου πάλιν ἑτέρου πρὸς διδασκαλίαν προσδέεται;